Overcoming Dyslexia For Dummies

Tracey Wood, MEd, is a children's reading specialist and the author of several books, including Teaching Kids to Read For Dummies and Teaching Kids to Spell For Dummies.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Conventions Used in This Book 2What You’re Not to Read 3Foolish Assumptions 3How This Book Is Organized 3Part I: Figuring Out What Dyslexia Is All About 4Part II: Determining When to Get a Diagnosis 4Part III: Exploring Your Options for Schools and Programs 4Part IV: Taking Part in Your Child’s Treatment 5Part V: Moving beyond the Childhood Years 5Part VI: The Part of Tens 5Part VII: Appendixes 5Icons Used in This Book 5Where to Go from Here 6Part I: Figuring Out What Dyslexia Is All About 7Chapter 1: Understanding the Basics of Dyslexia 9Defining Dyslexia in Plain Terms 10Zeroing In on the Symptoms of Dyslexia 11Deciding When to Have Your Child Tested 12Exploring Different Schools and Programs for Your Child 13Helping Your Child with Activities at Home 14Watching Your Dyslexic Child Grow 16Chapter 2: Pinpointing What Dyslexia Is (And Isn’t) 17Understanding the Real Meaning of “Dyslexia” 17Looking at the straight facts 17Moving away from common misconceptions 18Classifying dyslexia as a “learning disability” 19Investigating the Causes of Dyslexia 20Weighing up brain research 20Getting into genetics 22Breaking Down Dyslexia into Different Types 23Looking at Other “Dys” Conditions Related to Dyslexia 24Dysgraphia: Difficulty with writing 24Dyscalculia: Difficulty with math 25Dyspraxia: Difficulty with motor skills 25Comparing Dyslexia to ADD and ADHD 26Examining ADD 27Checking out ADHD 28Chapter 3: Being Alert to Symptoms of Dyslexia at Any Age 29Understanding Why It’s Important to Look for Signs 30Appreciating that dyslexia is unexpected 30Being savvy about screening tests and what one teacher can do 31Avoiding the “wait awhile” trap 32Noticing Your Preschooler’s Late Development 32Watching Your School-Age Child Fade 33Recognizing Signs of Dyslexia at Older Ages 35Seeking out signs in teenagers 35Acknowledging adult symptoms 36Referring to Your Family’s History 37Part II: Determining When to Get a Diagnosis 39Chapter 4: Watching Your Child Carefully at a Young Age 41Keeping a Close Eye on Early Skills 41Talking late and unclearly 42Battling ear infections 43Seeing a range of vision problems 44Having trouble with playing and dressing 46Displaying weak pre-reading skills 47Engaging in Pre-Reading Activities at Home 48Developing print awareness 48Zeroing in on phonemic and phonics skills 48Preparing Your Child for Kindergarten 51Stirring up good feelings about school 51Helping your child with language skills 52Nurturing other academic skills 52Encouraging fine motor skills 53Showing your child what’s sociable 54Putting your child in charge of his personal information 54Chapter 5: Acting Quickly with Your School-Age Child 55Understanding Why a Quick Response to Reading Problems Is Critical 55Noticing Dyslexic-like Behaviors at Home 57Struggling with written words 57Feeling unhappy 58Being disorganized 58Asking Your Child’s Teacher to Look for Dyslexic-like Behaviors in Class 59Laboring with reading 60Writing with difficulty 61Making predictable spelling errors 62Coping with other classroom tasks and issues 63Behaving unusually 63Chapter 6: Testing Your Child for Dyslexia 65Deciding When to Get a Diagnosis 66Examining Different Kinds of Tests 67Looking at language tests for preschoolers 67Making sense of vision and hearing tests 68Surveying early screening tests 69Understanding IQ tests 70Picking out performance tests 71Charging up for a test battery 73Choosing Your Test Administrator Wisely 74Selecting a specialist within your child’s school district 74Investigating independent testers outside your child’s school district 75Preparing Your Child (And Yourself) for Testing 77Receiving Test Results and Putting Them to Work 78Breaking down terminology in test results 79Finding out that your child has an LD 80Discovering that your child won’t be recognized as having an LD 81Looking at Your Options When You Decide Not to Test 85Part III: Exploring Your Options for Schools and Programs 87Chapter 7: Choosing the Best School for Your Child 89Questioning the Kind of School Your Child Needs 90Looking at What a Traditional Public School Offers 92Supplying assessment services 92Homing in on school programs 92Giving help above and beyond the classroom 96Providing sensitivity to your child’s needs 97Meeting the Staff in a Traditional Public School 99Familiarizing yourself with the classroom teacher 99Acquainting yourself with the resource teacher 101Checking out school specialists 102Paying special attention to the support staff 103Taking note of the principal 103Getting the Scoop on Alternative Schooling 104Finding out about charter schools 104Feeling the pull of magnet schools 105Choosing a private school 105Examining Montessori schools 106Walking the Waldorf (or Steiner) path 106Deciding on a school for dyslexics 107Thinking about home schooling 108Chapter 8: Investigating the Individualized Education Program 113Probing into the Basics of an IEP 113The nuts and bolts of an IEP meeting 114The fine print of an IEP document 115Ensuring a Successful IEP Meeting 117Preparing yourself 117Making the meeting work for you 119Surveying the Services That Your Child Receives with an IEP 120Looking at the Legal Nitty-Gritty of IEPs 121Examining the acts governing IEPs 121Knowing your rights — and your child’s 123Chapter 9: Securing Help without an Individualized Education Program 125Making the Most of Choices in School 125Looking for Help Outside School 126Scoping out specialized dyslexia therapies 126Considering dyslexia clinics 127Paying an individual tutor 128Opting for a general learning center 130Giving Academic Support at Home 134Letting your child take the lead with homework 134Setting up homework management methods 135Using technology 137Steering clear of a math meltdown 141Chapter 10: Working Productively with Your Child’s Teacher 143Requesting and Preparing for a Conference 144Asking the teacher to meet 144Assembling important info 145Determining whether to bring your child 145Keeping a Conference on Track and Following Up Smartly 146Creating a positive mood 146Emphasizing your child’s needs 147Pushing your points firmly 148Adhering to the teacher’s goals 149Taking action after a conference 149Coming Up with Cool Accommodations 150Understanding oral instructions clearly 151Reading large amounts of text 151Comprehending text 152Writing large amounts of text 152Copying from the board with ease 153Spelling successfully 153Finishing classroom work and homework on time 154Avoiding Dyslexic Land Mines with a Teacher’s Help 154Being graded, tested, and (worst) retained 154Learning in parrot fashion 158Part IV: Taking Part in Your Child’s Treatment 159Chapter 11: Putting Memorizing, Visualizing, and Rhyming to Good Use 161One by One: Starting with Single Letters 161Drawing pictures into vowels 162Knocking b and d into shape 163Putting P in its place 165Letters Joining Forces: Getting on Top of a Few Good Spelling Rules 165Blatantly Bossy e 166Extroverted and introverted vowels 168An old favorite: “i before e except after c” 169I Know You! Having Fun with Sight Words 171Ten at a time 172Picture this 173Bang! 174Word roll 174Five up 175Bingo 175Do You See the Sea? Distinguishing between Sound-Alike Words 176The Hard Stuff: Remembering Especially Tricky Words 178Chapter 12: Playing with Phonics 179Emphasizing Single Letters 179Cozying up with consonants 180Taking a long look at short vowels 181Introducing letters by name 182Building Three-Letter Words in Word Families 182Putting together “at” 183Moving on up with “bat,” “cat,” “fat,” and more 183Running through additional word families 184Mixing It Up with Blended Consonants 184Blends at the beginning 185Blends at the end 185Delving into Digraphs 187Mastering Tricky Vowel Sounds 189Opening up to long vowels 190Hearing “y” sound like a vowel 190Surveying schwa vowels 192Singling out sound-alike chunks featuring vowels 193Partnering vowels with “r” 196Lopping vowels off the ends of words 197Bringing Consonants under Control 198Unmasking consonants in disguise 198Sounding out the softies 199Spotting the silent types 202Doubling up 203Chapter 13: Sprinting Ahead with Reading Basics and Practice 205See Jane Read: Looking at Reading Fundamentals 205Being quick to recognize sight words 206Feeling good about phonics 207Understanding about comprehension 207In the Habit: Establishing a Happy Reading Routine 209Page after Page: Using Special Strategies for Reading Success 211Choosing the right books 212Reading to your child first 215Pairing up to read 216Running through multiple readings 217Nice and Gentle: Handling Your Child’s Difficulties with Kindness 219Knowing when to give a quick answer 219Having your child figure a word out when the time is right 220Helping your child find contextual cues 220Chapter 14: Taking Advantage of Multisensory Methods 223Bringing the Term “Multisensory” Down to Earth 223Distinguishing multisensory teaching from traditional methods 224Fitting together “multisensory” and “structured and sequential” teaching 225Setting the Stage for Multisensory Success 226Making Homework Multisensory 227Setting up a happier homework environment 227Helping your child understand new information 228Having Practical Stuff for Playing at Your Fingertips 229Modeling clay 229Gummy mixtures 229Sandpaper 230Laminate 230Scissors 231Flashcards 231Board games 233Computer games 234Other great tools to have on hand 234Working Physical Activity into Your Child’s Routine 235Experimenting with Alternative Multisensory Treatments 236Coloring pages of text 236Reading a new font 237Listening to different messages in each ear 237Eating fish 238Chapter 15: Handling Everyday Activities and Difficulties 239Talking Your Child into Feeling Good 240Understanding your child’s feelings 240Listening carefully 241Empowering your child 243Responding calmly to your child’s mistakes 244Helping Your Child with Space, Time, and Sequence 245Spacing out 246Timing is everything 250Following a sequence 252Maintaining Harmony in the Home 254Sharing the load 254Toeing the line 254Strengthening bonds between siblings 255Part V: Moving beyond the Childhood Years 257Chapter 16: Assisting Dyslexic Teens 259Instilling New Life Skills 259Aiming for high self-esteem 260Fostering more independence at home 261Making time for rest and play 262Getting behind the driver’s wheel 262Facing School Challenges Head-On 263Moving toward self-reliance with schoolwork 263Enforcing order on those files 264Staying on top of all the reading and writing 264Taking notes 266Studying the right foreign language 268Giving great speeches 270Planning for college and jobs 270Encouraging the Development of Work Skills 271Keeping up with extracurricular activities 271Doing some good with community service 272Finding a part-time job 272Chapter 17: Heading Off to College 275Keeping a Well-Stocked Portfolio 275Providing proof of dyslexia 276Gathering academic results 277Giving evidence of school and community involvement 281Researching Majors and Schools 282Deciding on potential fields of interest 282Examining different types of colleges 282Focusing on Target Schools 284Touring campuses 284Asking about disability programs 285Handling the Application and Interview Process 285Completing applications with ease 286Impressing interviewers 287Picking the Winning School 288Finding Help with Financing 289Successfully Keeping Up with Grades 291Chapter 18: Succeeding with Dyslexia in Adulthood 293Benefiting from a Late Diagnosis 293Looking at Helpful Programs and Treatments for Adults 295Heading to the classroom 296Improving your reading skills at home 296Knowing Your Workplace Rights as a Dyslexic Adult 297Making small accommodations for big results 298Receiving reliable advice 299Keeping Family and Friends in the Frame 299Part VI: The Part of Tens 301Chapter 19: Ten Tools for Making a Dyslexic’s Life Easier 303A Pencil Grip 303Pens with Erasable Ink 303Colored Files and Other Handy Items 304A Wristwatch 304A Pocket Spell Checker 304A Cell Phone and a Personal Organizer 305Books on Tape (Or CD) 305A Photocopier 305A Word Processor and the Internet 306Speech-to-Text Software 306Chapter 20: Ten Well-Known Dyslexia Programs and Treatments 307Orton-Gillingham and Other Phonics-Based Reading Programs 307Treatments That Tune into Sounds 308Berard Auditory Integration Training (AIT) 308Fast ForWord Language 309Earobics 310Tomatis 310Treatments That Focus on Vision 311Davis Dyslexia Correction 311The Irlen Method 311Treatments That Get Physical 312Balametrics 312Brain Gym 312The DORE Program 313Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes 313Audiblox 314PACE 314All Kinds of Minds 315The Feingold Program 315Levinson Medical Centers 316Part VII: Appendixes 317Appendix A: An Informal Assessment of Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Skills 319Picking Out Pre-Reading Skills 320Visual discrimination 320Auditory discrimination 321Phonemic awareness 323Examining Early Reading Skills 324Knowing single letters 325Trying three-letter words with short vowels 325Blending letters 326Diving into digraphs 327Testing for Independent Reading Skills 327Looking at long and short vowels 328Getting the hang of y endings 328Sorting out vowel combinations 329Spotting soft and hard letters 330Watching out for silent letters 330Placing vowels before r 331Appendix B: Contacts and Resources 333Getting General Information Online or by Voice Mail 333Five general Web sites to start you off 333Five big organizations 334Talking to Someone Directly 335Checking Your Child’s Eyes, Ears, and Mouth 336Surveying Self-Tests 336Focusing on Alternative Schooling and School Reading Programs 337Schools 337School reading programs 338Laying Down the Law 339Finding Independent Programs, Therapists, and Learning Centers 339Dyslexia treatments 339Therapists and tutors 340Dyslexia clinics 341General learning centers 341Trying Technology 342Lending a Hand to Teens, College Students, and Adults 343College entrance exams and other tests 343College and general education information 343Financial aid and scholarships 344Jobs and other life skills 345At-home dyslexia programs 345Index 347